The Dirty South

OK. Lets catch up. Moab.

Ive been to (well more like through) Moab once before. It was great. Dave and I packed up our girlfriends and some camping stuff and headed down there to try and make it to the Grand Canyon. We never made it the the canyon but made it through Arches National Park where we climbed some arches, bummed a campsite and made breakfast on a spire. We went to Lake Powell and some other places too and it was incredible. This trip was different.

I work for a place called Provo Canyon School, a residential treatment center for kids age 8-15 who have some problems developmentally here and there. Pretty nasty kids actually. So we decided to take 15 of them down to Moab for three days for some recreational therapy. Two 15 passenger vans, 15 boys, 7 staff members, a pickup truck and trailer full of food and supplies and we're off! We got down there around 4pm on Tuesday. When we got out of the car it was drizzling (which never happens down there) and we thought it would go away in a few minutes so started unpacking. Then it began to pour, a straight up monsoon. So we got soaked at the campsite and so did all our stuff. The kids didnt mind. Those little effers were just happy to be outside of their little prison school. We hit up the Arches visitors center. Waited for the rain to stop. When it did we went back and set up camp and cooked dinner. Hot dogs of course. But a BUTT TON of hot dogs. We let the kids goof off for a long time until it was real late then forced them all in their tents and I watch them to make sure they werent sneaking around or cutting up until I got too tired and too tired of it at 2:30am then it was off to bed, or I mean off to tent.

The next day was the same, french toast for breakfast, hiking the Fiery Furnace which was very very cool, Delicate Arch, Balanced rock, lunch back at the campsite, swimming in the Colorado River (whose temperature was absolutely perfect and it was the cleanest river I ever saw), steak dinner with bacon, potatoes, carrots, and Tang, night games, s'mores, cobbler, bed. The kids were exhausted so I got to go to bed early and slept pretty well, considering my back problems. We woke up, packed up, cleaned up, and headed out. Stopped at a giant sand dune to have a row. It was tons of fun that part. We were basically skiing in the sand without skis. Then we stopped for lunch at the Wendys in Price, Ut. Those poor workers having to deal with 15 loud selfish disturbed kids, just as smelly as their seven adult mentors. I then had to chase a kid who unfortunately did not get his meds in the morning through the parking lot and tackled him. Some good citizens of Price thought I was abducting slash kidnapping slash raping the young man and called the cops. This is a situation that has happened to me in the past and it is always kind of silly to deal with when youre laying on a kid and three cop cars pull up and want to know what the eff is going on. But we took care of it and headed home! Got back at 4pm on Thursday and unpacked. Then I hopped on my bike and went home.

Now I needed a shower in the WORST WAY. Usually I can go without or wait til I go to the gym or something. Impossible today. I had to start calling around for available showers. My friend Dave lovingly obliged. But when I got there he wasnt there but his roommate was and pointed me in the direction of the shower. Showering at a strangers house is like a one night stand. Its awkward, your just there to get some, you have no intentions of doing it again, but when its all over you feel like there is a need to sort of hang out after. So I shower and get dressed and come downstairs. I dont want to just leave because it would seem I was just there to use them so I hung out and watched some TV while I charged my phone. It was actually really great to just sit and watch TV. My next one night stand will end with some TV watching I guess. Breaks the tension. So now its Friday and I have to go back to work tonight. Whatever. I need money. I like it. I hate it. Ill take it.